CRIME WATCH: Thieves smash into South Florida shop

Publish Date:

Aug 13, 2012

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – An overnight burglary at a new South Florida motorcycle shop has the owner worrying that the business might not recover.

Thieves broke into a storage room at recently opened Riders Miami late on Aug. 8, breaking in by bashing through a garage door with a vehicle. The impact damaged a motorcycle and thousands of dollars in gear.

The burglary was a devastating blow to shop owner Federico Claps."We just opened our doors in December, and this is bad," Claps told WSVN. "It seems like they backed up with a pickup truck, and they created this scene, and it looked more like a terrorist attack than a robbery.”

The thieves stole three bikes, two of which belonged to customers, and wreaked havoc on shelved merchandise.

"The helmets, once they are dropped, they are useless, so I'm not quite sure what kind of damage we are talking about here," Claps said.

Another store next door to the shop was also burglarized. Police are investigating and have promised to beef up patrols in the area.